Method of forming ditch linings



Aug. 29, 1933. w. LERICHE ET AL- METHOD OF FORMING DITCH LININGS WZ/[S [f7 12%6 INVENTORS fm Vfims/ey Filed July 14, 1931 I into place against the dirt as backing and the Patented Aug. '29,

' "imrrnon or FoRiuiNGf n Willis'Leriche,AllentowmYPaQ and IraV. Beasley, v 3' Yukon, kla.,=assignors}to Cement panyya company of, Delaware Application July 14.1931. Serial Nb. 556326;

:Claimsf. (01. 615-14) This? invention relates to means for and a :method of lining ditches and more particularly 'hoseto a nozzle where the .mixture is hydrated; 9 .The material is driven from a nozzle in a stream;

to the formation of the "upper edges ofulinings 1 for ditcheswhere the ditches are carefully shaped inthe dirt and a lining 015; Gunite or the like is applieddirectly against the dirt. Animportant useof the invention is in connection with irrigation ditches. For many years these ditches were usedwithout linings. With this arrangement there. was considerable waste'of water and it wasldiflicult to keep the ditches clear. More recently it has been the practice'to linethe 'ditcheswith Gunite or the like whichicanf be applied very readily and of which a thin reinforced layeris sufficient toigiveythe requisite I strength. 'A great advantage of. this kind of lin-r ing is that'itcan be applied without the ,usefof forms and therefore economically.. V n j Z In this connection, it may be-said that Gunite Z may be formed by forcing sand and cement in proper proportions and undersuitable air pressure from a L cement-gun through a suitable and at high .vel-ocityagain'st a suitable base or 'back. Under these conditions the material is.

pneumatically tamped to form a dense mass constitutingiGunite In theconstruction .of ditches of the class referred to, it is found to be particularly desirable to form the ditch with its cross section substantially in the formiof a segment. of a circle; This form. accommodates a maximum fiowand gives great; strength with a very thin "lining; The.

lining may be reinforced by suitable means such as a'metal mesh or fabricwhich is. stretched along the ditch and secured in place in properly. spaced relation with'reference to the inner 'sur face .of the ditch. Then :the Gunite is blown mesh completelycovered. Ordinarily the lining is about one inch thick and :the ditch is from two and one-half to three feet in radius. i

Howevenin shaping .the inner surfaces of these ditchesthe upper edges are frequently broken away .as a result of loose dirtfailing'to remainin postion or to irregular-breaking away at the.,sur.- face of. the ground particularlylwhere the dirt is of the type from which adobe is madeand has been hardened by drying. Under such-conditions it is necessary, in order to get the inner surfaces of the upper edges of the lining at the desired position, to increase'the thickness of the lining at those 'parts. I This decreases very much the spread :of a given amount of material and corresponding? 1y increases the cost'of lining ditches and particularly so in that such'ditches are usually of 'very considerable length. I

An important object of the invention is to pro vide means for readilyavoiding such disadvan tages. Another important ,objectfis to provide. a I a method for obtaining the same general results. j l, In'carrying out thelpresent invention, use may a be made ciremovable topedge forms which may. A i

be secured in position so as 'to'providea suitably positioned backing for the upper edges of the lining. These forms may also be provided at their :upper edges with means," such as inwardly extending flanges, to gauge the thickness of I :the' lining at itsupper edge andalso to determinethe' position of theedge surfacesofthe lining! Other; features and-advantages 'will' appear. uponc'onsideration' of the following and of. the drawing in which Fig: 1 is View Gross .jsectiono @f h .provided witha) lining formedinaccorda with j the present 'inventiony" .,-,Fig 2,is.a-longitudinal vertical section; Fig. Bis a fragmentary view on a largeriscale of atop form. of the type illustrated in Fig.1;

Fig.4 is a sectional view correspondingtoone of a circular segment The inner surface. 1150f. the ditch proper is formedas accurately aspossible in-the dirt-or earthand is provided with a {suitable lining 2 of G unite ,or the like suitably reinforced as by means of metal mesh or-fabric, l3 ,4 having longitudinal. members. 14 andfltrans'verse. l members 15. 1 .1 z 2 I njforming the lining the meshfor fabric. is

stretched along the ditch and ispositioned at ing at the topedgesofthe ditch due for example,

description side of Fig. -1 but showinga. modified: top edge;

form; and 7 Q I Fig. 5 is a viewillustratfing the top edgeformshown in Fig. 4 when not. innse in a-ditch. 'j

Referring to the drawing, ;1 O;designates a ditch of whichthe cross; section may be'iin the form jf This condition as ,to the edgespf the, ditch-is illustrated in .Figsil. and 4 in -which theiniier dirt surfacell is shown as; having portions 17 sloping from the desired positioniof the dirtsur 3 face. Consequentlywhenthe Gunitei was blown into place, it was necessary tomake thelining v a these parts "cen idera ly. thi k tha main part of the ditch inorder to get the inner surfaces of the corresponding parts of thewlining in the proper positions. flhese iliningsa're not I very thick -(one inch,*for example) and the;j,e

cess of material at the edges reducesv consider i i a y th nsp ad ofethe materia1. Eorm rl iit1-29 was also the practice to support gauging strips 7 for the top edgesof the lining or stakes driven into the earth. Then after the Gunite was blown in around the stakes, they were removed leaving holes which were filled laterwith Gunite.

According to the present invention, various difiiculties including those referred "to may be avoided by the use of suitable top edge forms or shooting-strips of which onekind l8 isshown in'Figs; l, 2 and 3. Thisstrip or form -18 mayinclude a part of flange 19 intended to engage at one edge the-dirt at the lower edge of a portion 17 of the dirt surface. At its upper edge the part or flange 19 is provided with another flange 20 which, when the strip or formis in Fig. 1

, position servesas a gauge for the extreme edge of the .Gunite lining 12.;

' j-The flange 19, which extends downwardly may forall practical purposes be flat inasmuch as it is of small width (fourinches, for example) when compared with the radius of the ditch. Each "strip l8'may be of sheet metal and may be redriven directly into the earth. I'Whenstakes 24) are used, the wooden stripsor members 21 may,

by engagement with the stakes hold the shooting 'strips fir-mly inpositijon against the pressure of the Gunite when blown thereagainst. After the Gunite lining has been applied, the topedge strips or forms 18 and stakes 24 maybe removed.

Ordinarily the vacant spaces between'the Gunite lining 12 and the portion 17. of the inner -'surface of'the excavation will gradually fill'up with dirt.

--In Figs. 4 and 5 there is illustrated another embodiment 18a of;=the shooting strip or forms. "In this casethereinforcing strip forthe upper flange 20a is Om'itted and'both flanges 19a and 2'0a'aremade or metal of suiiicient strength to give thenecessa'ry stiffness. The strips or forms 18d maybe supportedby pins 22a=passingthrough eyes 25 at the'upper side of theflange 20a.-As

shownin'Figs. 4-and,5, the flange 20a is pro- 'vided at its upper side with lugs or projections having suitable openings and constituting the eyes: 25. The openings of the eyes vare inclined ftwith -reference to the upper' flange 20a'so that the pins enter the earth at' a greater depth and firmly hold the shooting strip or gform'more firmly in position." i 1 ,It should be understood that various changes may be'imade in the'means and method of the present invention and that certain'features may be used without others without departing from the true scope and spiritof the'inve'ntion.

2 Having thus described our invention; we claim:

" 1.; A'method of lining a ditch shaped in' the dirt to thepredetermined cross section except at the top where dirt-is broken away, comprising stretchmg mesh material along said ditch to conform substantially'with the shape thereof, applying re- 7 movable forms of substantially. uniform size at the jupper edges of the ditch with theinner faces of said forms at the desired position forthe outer surface-of the lining, securing the forms in posi tion by means attached .to the forms and'having engagement with'the-ground, and applying cementitiousmaterial' to cover the mesh and form a liningof substantially uniform thickness 2.-A 'methodlof lininga ditch shaped in dirtto the-predetermined cross section except atthe top thickness.

where dirt is broken away, in connection with the use of forms each including a substantially flat portion with a thinllower edge and attaching devices at the upper edges, said method comprising stretching mesh material along the ditch to conform substantiallywith the shape thereof except at the broken awayportions applying the remove able forms with their lower edges engaging the dirt at the lower edges of the broken away por-" tions and with-their inner faces at the desired positionforthe outer surface of the lining, s'up-' porting the forms'and maintainingthe spacing of the upper edges thereof from the sides of the ditch by use of said attaching devices, and applying cementitious material tocover the mesh and form a lining of suitable thickness.

3. A method of lining 'a'ditch-shapedin'dirt to i,

the predetermined cross section except at the top where dirt is broken away; in connection with the use of forms each including a substantially net 1 portion with a thin lower edge and an upper inwardly extending flange provided witheyes whose axes are substantially perpendicular to said fiat portion, said method. comprising stretching mesh material along the ditchto conform substantiallywith the shape thereof except. at the broken away portio11s,applyingthe removable forms with their lower edges engaging the dirt at the lower edges of the broken away portionand with-theirinner facesat'the desired position for the outer surface or the lining-supportingthe forms and maintainingthe spacing of the upper edges thereof from the sides of the ditch by pins passing through said eyes, blowing hydrated cementitious material into position to cover the reinforcing material, and removing the forms. I s I 4.. A method of lining a'ditch'shaped in dirt to the predetermined cross sectionexcept at the top where dirt is broken away, in connection with the use of forms 'each including a substantiallyvfiat portion with a'thin'lower edge andanupper inwardly extending gauge portion provided with eyes whose axes are substantiallyperpendicular to said fiat portion, said method comprising stretching mesh material along the ditch to conform substantially with'the shape thereof except,

at the broken away portions, applying.the remov able forms with their lower edges engaging the dirt at the lowered'ges of the broken away portion andwith their inner faces'at the desired position for the outer surface of the lining, supp'orting the forms and maintaining the spacing of the upper edgesthereoffromlthe sides of the ditch by pins passing through said eyes and into the dirt,- and applying cementitious material to cover the mesh and form a liningof suitable thickness.

5 5. A1methodof lining a ditch shapedin dirt'to the predetermined cross section except at the too where dirt' is broken away, in connection with the use of forms-each including a substantially flat portion havinga thin loweredge and-attaching means adjacent to its upper edge said-method comprising applying to the ditch mesh material stretchedalong the ditch in conformity with the shape thereof except at the broken awayportions and said removable forms so as to engage the dirt at thel'owerpartof 'the'broken-aw'ay portions and to be held'by use of said attaching means spaced .WILLIS' LEaIcHn 

